Written Answers Friday 9 February 2007

Scottish Executive

Communities

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-30545 by Rhona Brankin on 18 January 2007, whether it will give details of what is meant by "if allegations of malpractice in these groups come to light".

Rhona Brankin: I have asked Angiolina Foster, Chief Executive of Communities Scotland, to respond. Her response is as follows:

  Under the terms and conditions of the Community Regeneration Fund the grant recipient (local authority) is required to submit a full written report to Communities Scotland (acting on behalf of Scottish ministers) when allegations are made or come to light about any organisation in receipt of the grant.

Communities

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what reasons it has been given for the closure of the Chirnsyde Community Initiative.

Rhona Brankin: I have asked Angiolina Foster, Chief Executive of Communities Scotland, to respond. Her response is as follows:

  A report to Glasgow City Council’s Executive Committee on 8 December 2006 outlines the reasons for closure of the Initiative. This report is available to consult on the City Council’s website: http://www.glasgow.gov.uk.

Communities

Alasdair Morgan (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it has made of the likely impact of the collapse of One Plus on vulnerable families.

Des McNulty: The Executive and local authorities are working hard to find alternative providers for services, where possible, to reduce the impact of the liquidation of One Plus. This process is continuing and good progress is being made, but until this process is further advanced it will not be possible to carry out a thorough assessment of the impact on families.

Communities

Alasdair Morgan (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what measures it will put in place to replace the services provided by One Plus.

Des McNulty: Alternative provision, either through the local authorities or through new providers, including the voluntary sector, has now been put in place for the majority of care services, or is in the process of being arranged.

  The Executive is currently in discussion regarding alternative provision of the lone parent helpline and related information and advice services, and the sustainable employment project previously provided by One Plus.

Defence

Colin Fox (Lothians) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive how devolved services may benefit from any monies which become available should a decision be taken not to replace Trident nuclear weapons.

Mr Tom McCabe: The responsibilities of the Ministry of Defence are reserved to the UK Government and so no Barnett consequentials come to the Scottish Executive as a result of allocating resources to defence.

  Only if the UK government reallocated resources to another UK Department, to be spent on functions with a devolved comparator, would any additional resources come to Scotland. It would be misleading to suggest that there would be any automatic additional resources available to the Scottish Executive.

Enterprise

Karen Gillon (Clydesdale) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people living in the (a) ML8, (b) ML9, (c) ML10, (d) ML11 and (e) ML12 postcode areas have started their own businesses since 1999.

Nicol Stephen: Data on the number of VAT registrations are released annually by the Small Business Service, an agency of the Department for Trade and Industry. These figures are used to monitor the number of business start-ups; however data are not available at the postcode district level.

European Union

Bruce Crawford (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive on how many occasions Scottish ministers attending European Council meetings have had to listen to proceedings from the "salle d’écoute" and have not been seated in the council meeting room and on which occasions this has occurred.

Mr Tom McCabe: In the interest of good governance and transparency, I include a literal translation of "salle d’écoute" to aid understanding for members of the public. "Salle d’écoute" means "listening room".

  In 2006 Scottish ministers attended ten European Union Council of Ministers meetings. No minister was obliged to listen to proceedings from the listening room at any of these meetings. Attendance at European Union Council of Ministers meetings provides a valuable opportunity for Executive ministers to network with other ministers and Commission officials. Such networking occurs both inside and outside the formal Council negotiating room.

European Union

Bruce Crawford (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will release the ministerial paper of July 2005 by the then head of its European Office which considered how the political and administrative resources of the Executive could be put to best effect in relation to the European Union.

Mr Tom McCabe: The Scottish Executive does not intend to release this paper as it contains confidential policy advice to ministers.

Fertility Treatment

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much was spent on IVF treatment in the last financial year and how it is estimated will be spent on such treatment in this financial year, broken down by NHS board.

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many patients are waiting for IVF treatment, broken down by NHS board.

Lewis Macdonald: This is a matter for individual NHS boards. The information requested is not held centrally.

First Minister

Mr Jim Wallace (Orkney) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will place in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre the text of the speech delivered by the First Minister at the Scottish Funding Council’s strategic dialogue conference in Glasgow on 22 January 2007.

Nicol Stephen: This speech was delivered by the First Minister to an audience from the college and university sectors, at a closed doors event organised by the Scottish Funding Council. The First Minister spoke from a list of bullet points and there is therefore no formal script of the speech as delivered. We are unable, therefore, to place a copy of the text in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre.

Housing

Marlyn Glen (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what amount of private sector grant was approved by (a) Angus and (b) Aberdeenshire councils for aids and adaptations for householders in each year since 2003.

Rhona Brankin: The amount of private sector grant approved by Angus and Aberdeenshire for carrying out improvements for people with disabilities is shown in the following table.

  Amount Approved for Aids and Adaptations in Aberdeenshire and Angus: 2002-03 to 2005-06.

  

Area
2002-03
2003-04
2004-05
2005-06


Aberdeenshire
112,000
205,000
263,000
320,000


Angus
283,000
375,000
347,000
382,000



  Source: IMP1B returns submitted by local authorities to the Scottish Executive Development Department Analytical Services Division (Housing Statistics).

  Notes:

  1. Figures have been rounded to the nearest thousand.

  2. The figures shown represent amounts approved for work identified by local authorities specifically as improvements for disabled. They do not include grants for more general improvements which may include elements of benefit to people with disabilities, such as improved accessibility.

Transport

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the standard Strategic Transport Appraisal Guidance technique is being applied when comparing the options for a new Forth crossing.

Tavish Scott: I refer the member to the answer to question S2O-11967 on the 8 February 2007. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search .

Young People

Karen Gillon (Clydesdale) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to encourage young people to live and work in Clydesdale.

Allan Wilson: We place great importance on ensuring that all our young people have the necessary skills and opportunities to make Scotland, including Clydesdale, a positive location in which to choose to live and work.

  Our key strategies, which include; Determined to Succeed, our targeted support for those in the NEET Group (Not in Education, Employment or Training); our funding of thousands of modern apprenticeships, and the Young Persons Concessionary Travel Scheme all aim to maximise the opportunities available to young people across Scotland.

  In addition, young entrepreneurs in Clydesdale looking to start their own business can access a £1,000 Business Start-up Grant through the Business Gateway.

Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body

Microsoft Government Leaders Forum

Chris Ballance (South of Scotland) (Green): To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body what payment, in cash or in kind, has been made, or is expected to be made, to the Scottish Parliament by Microsoft since May 2003 and what the purpose of any such payment was.

George Reid: The SPCB has received no payment from Microsoft in cash or kind. The SPCB expects to recover from Microsoft all the main costs associated with hosting this event, such as broadcasting, catering, security etc. The final accounts are still being prepared. The SPCB does not expect to profit from Microsoft for this event.

Parliamentary Accommodation

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body how much has been withheld from contractors and sub-contractors in the form of retentions relating to the construction of the Holyrood building; how many companies are still awaiting payment of retained monies and, of these, how many are Scottish-based; how much is owed to Scottish companies, and how long it will be before the companies receive payment of the retained amounts.

George Reid: As at the end of January 2007, the total amount held back from trade contractors involved in the construction of the Parliament is circa £4 million, which amounts to just under 1% of the projected final cost of the building. The SPCB has no direct contractual arrangements with sub-contractors. There are 27 trade contracts out of 60 with some form of payment still to be made. Some £425,000 remains to be paid to the seven companies which are Scottish based. Final payments to trade contractors will continue to be made when the client considers that conditions for doing so have been met. Most are expected to be released by the end of March 2007.